News Isn’t Positive, and It’s Testing His Patience

Amid the continuing saga of doubles players suing their own organization, a rogue men’s tournament in Madrid unsuccessfully trying to put a stake in the heart of its doubles event, and a recent report of an Argentine Grand Slam finalist testing positive for a banned substance, two unrelated thoughts come to mind:

* So much for quiet time after the final Slam of the year.

* Maybe it’s time to call Justin Gimelstob.

Gimelstob likes to talk and is never shy about expressing his opinions. He was a quote machine for reporters long before his Wimbledon news conference last summer when he humorously dismissed the last-question request from the club’s “minder” and went right on talking.

Gimelstob was in full form Monday, expressing strong opinions on drugs, and the stream of positive tests coming from Argentina. “It’s a shame because you lose credibility in what is actually taking place out there,” he said. “From the players’ standpoint, is it a fair playing field? Am I playing against guys that have an unfair advantage? It starts messing with your mind. You start losing faith in the system.”

Since 2001, Argentines Guillermo Coria, Juan Ignacio Chela and Mariano Puerta have served suspensions after testing positive. Guillermo Canas is serving a two-year suspension after testing positive for a banned diuretic this year but has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This month, the French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported that Puerta, who lost in the French Open final to Rafael Nadal this year, had tested positive for a banned stimulant in Paris.

Puerta has denied the accusation, saying he had not been contacted by officials, a difference from when he tested positive in 2003. If found guilty of a second doping offense, he could face a lifetime ban.

“If that’s the case, it’s an absolute joke,” Gimelstob said of a possible positive test. “You don’t really know who should have been in the French Open final. Canas was playing the French Open on appeal. Puerta, who might have tested positive. Who knows who should have been in the final?”

In fact, Puerta defeated Canas in five sets in a French Open quarterfinal, a match lasting more than 3 1/2 hours.

Gimelstob’s concerns about drugs and drug testing are not limited to tennis.

“Maybe the best 100-meter sprinter in the world is the guy finishing seventh, but doesn’t take drugs,” he said. “Maybe the best home-run hitter is [Cardinal shortstop] David Eckstein.”

Gimelstob was on his way to practice, trying to get in some court time between rain showers. He is the top-seeded player in this week’s $50,000 USTA Challenger event at the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center, having returned to the area after a post-U.S. Open swing through Asia. He had four match points before losing in a third-set tiebreaker to Lleyton Hewitt at the Thailand Open in September.

On the Asian tour, he tried out two of the ATP’s “experimental” scoring systems in doubles, a tiebreaker at 4-4 and a tiebreaker at 5-5.

“I think no-ad scoring is really exciting,” he said. “Some people take the stance that to do anything separate from the singles minimizes doubles. To have a few unique wrinkles sets it apart and has its own appeal.

“[But] shorter sets is ridiculous. It looks like a gimmick and unprofessional.”

The so-called ATP “enhancements,” an attempt to get more singles players to play doubles -- at the expense of doubles specialists -- are at the heart of the lawsuit filed by doubles players against the organization.

“I probably understand both sides of it,” Gimelstob said. “By no means do I think a guy ranked 100 in the world in doubles should be making a better living than someone ranked lower in singles.... If they make it only singles guys, the level of competition will decrease significantly. There will be a lot of defaults, withdrawals and guys not trying.”

Notable

* The late Althea Gibson will be honored with a tribute by the Lincoln Family Life Center of Los Angeles on Dec. 2-3, with a pro-celebrity golf and tennis invitational at the Ojai Valley Inn. U.S. Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison will be the honorary chairwoman. Details: (323) 293-8535, Ext. 12.

* There are three weeks’ worth of tournaments before the season-ending WTA championships at Staples Center, Nov. 8-13. Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo of France are the top two seeded players this week in Zurich, Switzerland.

The Tier I event in Zurich will be followed by two smaller events the next week, Oct. 24-30, a Tier II in Linz, Austria, and a Tier III in Hasselt, Belgium. The final events before the Championships are Oct. 31-Nov. 7, a Tier II tournament in Philadelphia and a Tier III in Quebec.

Next year, the Championships will be in Madrid. The move to Europe has a ripple effect, affecting the Philadelphia event, which leads into the Los Angeles finale. Philadelphia is off the 2006 schedule. The other significant change to the post-U.S. Open schedule next year is the move of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix from Filderstadt, Germany, to Stuttgart, Germany.